Five Summer Recipes to Make With the Kids

Looking for recipes to enjoy with your kiddos this summer? A few local chefs share some of their favorite, kid-friendly summer recipes.

Bill Smith’s Banana Pudding
from Angelina’s Kitchen

Ingredients

For the pudding:

• 6 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 4 cups half and half
• 4 eggs
• 1 vanilla bean
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 stick butter
• 2½ lbs. bananas
• 1 box Vanilla Wafers

For the meringue:

• Cider vinegar
• Salt
• 8 large egg whites, room temperature
• ¼ tsp. cream of tartar
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla

Instructions
Whisk the cornstarch into a cup of the cold half-and-half. Whisk in the eggs until completely blended. Heat the other three cups of half-and-half, with vanilla bean, until it begins to steam a little. Drizzle the warm half-and-half into the eggs, stirring constantly. Cook the mixture in a double boiler or a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat until it begins to thicken enough to coat a spoon. Whisk in the sugar, cook for a minute or two longer. When doing this, take care, because the custard will scorch easily. Remove vanilla bean and stir in butter in pieces. The butter will seem to thin the custard a little, but the effect is temporary. The butter must be completely absorbed.

Pour a cup or so of the custard into an ovenproof serving bowl. Swirl it around to coat the bowl. Line the bowl with vanilla wafers. Fill the bowl by layering it with custard, cookies and bananas. Let the pudding settle.

Meanwhile, rinse a mixing bowl with vinegar and dust it with salt. Dump it out over the sink. Put the egg whites in the bowl and begin mixing at a low speed. Add ¼ tsp. cream of tartar and increase speed to medium. Feed in the sugar slowly. Increase the speed to almost max. Beat until the meringue is fairly stiff. Bump the speed up to maximum for a minute. Turn it back down to low, add the vanilla. Mix in well.

Spread the meringue over the top of the pudding in dramatic swirls. Dust heavily with more sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes until brown.

To-Die-For Blueberry Muffins
from Carolina Cravings

Ingredients

For the crumb topping:

• ½ cup white sugar
• ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup butter, cubed
• 1½ tsp. ground cinnamon

For the muffins:

• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup white sugar
• ½ tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• ⅓ cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• ⅓ cup milk, or more as needed
• 1 cup fresh blueberries

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.

To make crumb topping, mix together sugar, flour, butter and cinnamon with a fork.

For muffins, combine flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and add enough milk to reach the top of the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until done.

Jar Salad
from Breakaway Cafe

Ingredients

• Lettuce
• Ground turkey 
• Peas
• Black olives
• Pickles
• Cheese
• Carrots
• Black beans

Ingredients

• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 1 cup fresh mozzarella, small cubes
• 3 Tbsp. fresh basil, chopped
• 3 tsp. olive oil
• 3 tsp. balsamic vinegar
• 2 dashes salt and pepper

Amount of each ingredient can be adjusted for individual taste. Picky eaters may prefer the tomatoes to be smaller, or replace cherry tomatoes with chopped Roma tomatoes. For a slightly sweeter and less acidic version, use balsamic reduction. 

Oasis Quiche
from Oasis Fresh Market and Deli

Ingredients

• 6 eggs
• ¼ lb. boiled ham, sliced and diced
• ⅛ lb. cheddar and American cheese, sliced and diced
• 1 pie crust
• 1 cup broccoli florets
• 2 small pats of butter
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions
Beat the eggs. Layer the ham and cheese on the bottom of the pie crust. Pour the beaten eggs on top and sprinkle the broccoli florets. Top with two small pats of butter, salt and pepper. Place in oven for 40 minutes at 375 degrees or until the egg is hard and top is golden. Let cool.